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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunication 17.1 Definition of Resident Population Lincoln S.T. Ashida Corporation Counsel William P. Kenoi Mayor KatherineA. Garson Assistant Corporation Counsel COUNTY OF HAWAII OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325 Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4262 (808) 961-8251 Fax (808) 961-8622 June 22, 2011 MEMORANDUM TO:Rene Siracusa, Chair and Members of the Hawai‘i County Redistricting Commission FROM:Michael J. Udovic Deputy Corporation Counsel RE:Definition of Resident for Redistricting Purposed In 1992,the Constitution of the State of Hawai‘i was amended when voters changed Article IV of the Constitutionof the State of Hawai‘i to require that “permanent resident” population is the population base for apportionment of legislative districts. While this Constitutional provision facially applies only to State apportionment questions, the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i adopted a similar approach and found that the term “resident population” as found in the Charter of the County of Hawai‘i should be interpreted to mean permanent resident population and should not include those persons who reside within the County of Hawai‘i but are not permanent residents. SeeCitizens for Equitable Government v. County of Hawai‘i,108 Hawai‘i 318, 120 P.2d 217 (2005). The term permanent resident wasgiven the same definition as “domicile”, the Supreme Court finding that only residents having their domiciliary in the State of Hawai‘i may be counted in the population base for the purpose of reapportioning legislative districts. Article IV of the Constitution of the State of Hawai‘i states in relevant part as follows: The commission shall allocate the total number of members of each house of the statelegislature being reapportioned among the four basic island units namely: (1) the island of Hawaii, (2) the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe, (2) the island of O‘ahu and all other islands not specifically enumerated, and (4) the islands of Kauai and Niihau, using the total number of permanentresidentsin each of the basic island units and computed by the method known as the method of equal proportions; except that no basic island unit shall receive less than one member in each house. COMM. 17.1 Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider The Supreme Court used a definition of “resident” found in Black’s Law Dictionary as: [a]ny person who occupies a dwelling within the State, has a present intent to remain within the State for a period of time, and manifests the genuineness of that intentby establishing an ongoing physical presence within the State together with indicia that his presence within the State is something other than merely transitory in nature. In this vein, the Court when on to find that: “[T]he primary significance of the word ‘residence’ as used in the constitution is the same as domicil[e]-a word which means the place where aman establishes his abode, makes the seat of his property, and exercises his civil and political rights.” (Quoting Chase v. Miller,41 Pa. 403,420 (Pa.1862). This definition of “resident” would exclude any person who did not exhibit a present intent to remain within Countyof Hawai‘i for more than a transitory period.Thus,the Court excluded those college students who lack a present intent to remain in the county for a period of time beyond their date of graduation. The reason being,their presencein theCountyof Hawai‘i is primarily for educational purposes with no intent to remain after graduation, education then being the transitory aspect of their residence. Likewise, military personnel and their dependents who are stationed in the County of Hawai‘i by the United States military have little to say in deciding the location of their assignment and are generally speaking in the County of Hawai‘i involuntarily,as opposed to persons who choose to live in the County of Hawai‘i with an intent to permanently remain. The Hawai‘i Supreme Court held specifically that the phrase “resident populations” found in the County Charter excludes nonresident university students and nonresident military personnel and their dependents from the population base of the county for redistricting purposes. The term resident population is meant to include those persons who reside in the County of Hawai‘i and have the intent to permanently remain a resident of the County of Hawai‘i. Those persons who do not have the intent to remain permanently in the County of Hawai‘i are not considered permanent residents and should be excluded from the population base in determining the redistricting of the nine council districts.Thus the term resident population should exclude nonresident students and military personnel.